I spent my B&N gift card online, which is cool because last year you had to use in-store gift cards in the store, and I spent mine on Britney Spears CDs because they didn't have anything else I liked in the store. But this year they're letting us use 'em online! W00t!So, I ordered Cowboy Bebop Shooting Star #2, and FLCL #2. I'm totally in love with Cain Kuga's art style, but she's only done the two mangas, even according to amazon.co.jp. This userpic is from my sketch of a panel that cracked me up, so you can see how it's different, at least somewhat. Anyway, it looks cooler in the manga because it's inked and not just pencilled and gamma'd. I did the style justice, though, and the mood of the panel. (Course, it's not quite the mood for this post, but oh well, I'm trying to show art.)Anyway, no one has heard of her and no one seems to give her any props, because the manga is "different" from the anime. Real different. Some people don't like their worlds shaken up, you know. I hope she does more in the future so she can get the respect she deserves. I added the only 2 other LJ users who listed her in their interests to my friends list. Props.

In other news, I deposited a very fat paycheck today, but it's on hold until it clears because I was overdrawn and I get overdrawn on a regular basis. So, I have moneys, but I can't use the moneys. I'm not even overdrawn by very much. Oh well, it's my own fault for being overdrawn all the time. Guess those Bebop and FLCL DVDs will have to wait. (as well as the electric bill and the phone bill and the cable bill... ehehehe :DI should be able to enroll in art school in March. I'll probably have to pay my own way, because I really dropped the ball last year with financial aid. But I don't even care if I can only take one class per quarter. I live to animate.

OK, I'm gonna try to make sense. But I can't promise I will.That pic is my sketch of Kuga's drawing in a panel in the manga called Cowboy Bebop Shooting Star. (OK, I think that was clear.) Cain Kuga is the artist, and these two mangas are her only offerings (two volumes). It's translated into English, so you know, you don't have to learn another language.Here's a little more of the scene, but again, my sketch, not the actual panel (and remember: GOING to art school. not GONE). And there was way more, I just wanted a good sample of the facial expressions in that scene. A guy said something that pissed them off, so they shot him that look to shut him up. In the original scene, there's that fire-stuff behind them, indicating severe pissed-offedness. In the next panel, the guy who pissed 'em off goes all SD and apologetic.

That's probably all you wanted to know, but here's more. I cropped Spike's face and then did some kind of photoshoppy stuff, because originally it wasn't very dark. Jet was darker in my sketch because he's way harder to draw than Spike. (I also accidentally left a guideline on Jet's head, you can ignore that.) So, whenever I endarkened the pencil marks, I redid the color and it seemed to add a little hate.

Anyway, the I'm totally in love with the Shooting Star manga, and if you can handle the fact that Spike's hair is different and the storyline is completely different, you should pick it up. There is also manga by Hajime Yatate (sp?) and Yukata Nanten, but personally I dont' like the art as well. It worked better on screen than in print. You can get a box set of all 5 CB manga volumes, I think it's available on amazon.